Wire fastener for fenceposts



Apr. 3, 1923; 1,450,644

F. PRAcHT WIRE FASTENER FOR FENCEPOSTS Filed Apr. 4, 1921 Patented Apr.3, 1923.

uni-rr STA-ras FRED PRACHT, or W'ILLIAM'SVILLE; rir'sso'uar.

wlan' F'As'rniina non: r'nncnrosrsf Appiicaton filed Aprn 4.-, 1921.serial No. 458,283.

To arZZ rohomat mag] concern: v

` Be it knownE that I, FRED PRACHT, a citizen Aof Germany,` havingdeclared :my intentions to become aV citizen of the United" States;residing at VVilliamsville, in the county Viayne Land State' ofMissouri, y have invented certain newfan'd usefulImprovements 1n WireFasteners for Fenceposts, of which" the following`l` is a specifica l0tion.; y

This invention relates` broadly y toi fence posts and more particularlyto a fence post "including improved 'means lfor retaining ak wire :fencein placefinconnection therewith.

The main andv principal" object of the invention is to provide a deviceof the above character'which in addition to a fence post proper isprovided with spaced openings, a

hindgedly mounted retaining member so mounted that when in a fullyclosed position will be held in spaced relation to the adjacent side ofthe fence post and which carries retaining means adapted to projectthrough the openings .in the fence post whereby the retaining memberwill be securely held in position.

Various other objects and advantages of my invention will becomeapparent during the continuance of the following description. y

In the drawings l Figure 1 vis a view in front elevation showing myinvention as in its preferred embodiment and as used in connection witha 5' wire fence of conventional form.`

'Figure 2 is a view in side elevation showing parts in -section and alsoshowing` the retaining membe'rin open position in dotted line.

Figure 3 is-a view in horizontal cross section taken on line 3-3 ofFigure 2 looking downwardly in the direction indicated by the arrow.

In descrihingmy invention more in detail, 10 indicates the fence postwhich is preferably formed of steel but which may be made of any othersuitable or desirable material and which is mounted in a concrete block11. provided lwith a through opening 12 and about midway its ends with asecond opening 13. The purpose of these openings will be hereinafterdescribed.

A plate 14 of suitable length, width and thickness is secured to oneside of the fence Near its upper end the post isl post as at 15 andcarries outstanding lugs or ears 16" that receive a pintle 17. It is'pointed outk that the thickness of the plate 14' is preferably the samethicknessas thelstrand's M of wire which comprise th'e"fe'ncet 18 sothat 60 while the retaining member which iscarried b'y" the postsmaylirmly enga-ge the strands of wire as will bef hereinafter describedgit will be: heldin spacedl relation to" the adjacent baste of th'eypost` 10 soasnot to" 55 mash or cut the horizontal stran'd of'wire whichwould otherwisebe the'icase. i

The retaining membef19fis in the form of a metallicl bar'which 'receivestheapintlefl' K atits lower endv Sol thatfitwill beheld in pivotalrelation 'to ,the :fence post 10^1as`E is obvious. At its upper-l end ftharetai'ning` member 19 carries a bolt or similar fastening member 20which is pivoted thereto as at 21 so that when the retaining member is75 moved into position shown in Figure 2, the bolt 2O passes through theopening 12 of the fence post. When the parts are in this position, a nut22 may be screwed onto the free end of the bolt 2O so as to securelyretain the bolt in place and as a result maintain the retainingmember`19 in rigid relation with respect to the post. The retainingmember 19 is further provided, intermediate its ends .with an opening toreceive a removable bolt 23 which when in place also passes through theopening 13 of the fence post and which may be securely fastened by meansof a nut 24. In the operation of my invention the nuts 22 and 24 areunfastened which will allow the boltsV 2O and 23 to be withdrawn fromthe openings 12 andk 13 and thereby enable the operator to move theretaining member 19 into the position shown in dotted line in Figure 2.The wire fence is then engaged with the post 10 as shown in Figures 1and 2 after which the retaining member 19 is moved back into its normalposition and the bolts 2O and 23 pass through the openings 12 and 13 ofthe vfence post. After this has 100 been done, the nuts 22 and 24 arescrewed into place so as to maintain the retaining member 19 in a secureposition with respectA to the fence post and draw the'same tightlyagainst the horizontal strands of the fence 105 18. As above pointedout, while the retaining member 19 firmly engages the horizontal strandsto the fence and securely retains the same in place, it is preventedfrom mashing 14 whose thickness is substantially the same as thethickness of the wire strands which compose the fence.

From the above it will be observed that the retaining member can bequickly and easily operated and that it can be associated with a fencepost of conventional form without materially altering the constructionthereof.

From the foregoing it is believed that the advantages and novel featuresof my invention will 'be readily understood and therefore furtherdetailed description is deemed unnecessary.

That is claimed is 1- kl. Ina device of the character described thecombination with a fence post provided with spaced openings, of a platesecured to one side of said fence post adjacent the bottom thereof, `aretaining member pivotallyy mounted on said plate at a point spaced fromthe edges thereof,y means carried by said retaining member adapted topass through said openings in said fence post,

a means to fasten said last mentioned means andy thereby maintain saidretaining member 1n rigid relation to said fence post, and said platebeing adapted to limit movement of said retaining member in onedirection and maintain the same in spaced relation to said fence postsubstantially as described.

2. A wire fastener for fence posts comprising, in combination, a fencepost provided with spaced vertically aligned openings, a plate disposedto lie iat against a side of the post and secured thereto beyond thealigned openings, said plate provided with outstanding lugs arranged toproject from an intermediate portion thereof, a retaining bar having oneend pivotally connected to the lugs of the said plate whereb the bar maybe swung upwardly against t e side of the post to over-lie the openingstherein, said bar when in its upwardly swung position being held spacedfrom the post by a portion of the plate lying between the bar and thepost, and a securing member pivotally supported at the free end of thebar and passing in the upward position of the bar thru one of theopenings in the post to provide for retaining the said bar in position.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

FRED PRACHT.

